


Obsession

by 3riche



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22121608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3riche/pseuds/3riche
Summary: 1. obsession; the state of being obsessed with something or someone.2. obsession; an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind.A short story in which the art of obsession makes Dr. Ethan Ramsey realize his current state of stupidity and finally pushes him to cater to his woman.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Obsession

It was the cold afternoon on the fourth of December all interns, fellows and residents had been anticipating for. Smothering blankets of snow rested upon the streets, stretching towards Edenbrook's large courtyard—which was usually scattered with patients and vistors, now stood barren.

The only sight of motion was inside the ginormous hospital. The newly arrived interns and few 2nd year residents such like Sienna, Bryce and Aurora willingly agreed to adorning Edenbrook in festive decorations; uplifting the Christmas spirit within the hospital.

Later that day, when day would break into night: dawn settling into dusk, the annual gala organized by various doctors in Boston would commence its first appearance in Edenbrook. Normally, the galas were a celebration of the monumental leaps in pharmaceutical businesses. This year however, the notorious law firm Choir & Grey, was the enterprise being applauded for their contribution to hospitals all across the state.

Choir & Grey provided their legal services and had proudly represented The Medical Board of Medicine in a blazing class action lawsuit. The Medical Board of Medicine v. Panacea Labs had been a spectacle for the public eye to view on every news channel, engulfing all viewers to watch the intense dispute for seven days straight.

The fourth day was the day the trial ceased and the two days that followed was a waiting game. In those two days, the Jurors assigned to the case had to conclude an answer; yay or nay. Yay if they were for the motion of The Medical Board of Medicine that stated all hospitals in the state to submit the previous experimental drug as a public cure for the Rhodes disease. Or, nay if they were against the motion.

All nurses, interns and doctors in Edenbrook Hospital gathered around the small flat-screen TV hanging in the corner of the break room, watching each argument, sigh and cry for objection over the past four days.

On the fourth day, dr. Azali Saints' testimony was being aired on all television platforms, regarding the 'incident' of unauthorized use of experimental medicine in Mrs Martinez's case. It was like she was being questioned by the ethics committee at the hearing all over again. Only this time, she wasn't all alone.

1,5 MONTH EARLIER,

"Prosecution, you may call your first witness to the stand." The judge's scratchy voice rang out.

"Thank you, your Honor. I call to the stand dr. Azali Saints." Tegan Cost, lawful apprentice of Choir & Grey, stated, craning her neck into the direction of the obviously nerve-shaken Azali. Said doctor, stood from her seat within the sea of spectators, but not before trailing her eyes to the man that sat beside her.

His large and warm hand gloved her skin in pleasurable tingles as he softly traced the topological lines on her leg and leaned forward, his lips awfully close to caressing the skin draped along the shell of her ear.

"You've got this, Rookie. Just keep that no-nonsense behavior you always display to your advantage and I'm sure we'll win this." He pressed, his ocean eyes swirling with emotions too deep to be deduced in that single second.

"Thank you, Ethan. Thank you for being here." Her orbs trailed along his face, settling on the small gesture that gloved his lips into the promise of a smile. "Go get 'em, _bella_." The foreign word left his lips like a melodious mystery, conjuring a shiver along her flesh at the perfect melange of baritone and coo.

_[ translation: 'beautiful' ]_

Azali fluttered her eyes shut for a fine moment, gathering the strength he believed she possessed, and finally approaching the stand.

A bailiff dressed in his righteous uniform drew near the stand with a Bible tight in his grasp. "Please rest your left hand on the Bible and raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" He questioned, voice much higher than she expected it to be. Her eyes wandered along the depth of his face before clearing her throat and loudly stating, " _I do_."

"Dr. Saints, you're a first year resident, is that correct?" Tegan Cost questioned, her heels clinking dully against the carpet engulfed floor. "It's the end of the first year, but technically, yes." A pensive sigh escaped her parted lips, _please don't say stupid stuff, not now._

"Is it true that you almost lost your medical license because of an incident that happened less than a month ago, Miss Saints?"

Azali tightly clasped her hands as one, "Yes. I administered an illegally obtained sample of the drug, V-3706, to my former patient, Teresa Martinez, without the hospital's approval."

"Why didn't you try to get the hospital's approval before administrating the drug, doctor?"

"I did. I filed the paperwork. The treatment was denied by the drug manufacturer, Panacea Labs, because it hadn't been fully tested, even for experimental use."

"So that's when you decided to go against every medical protégée's first policy; do no harm?"

"Yes, but not intentionally, I'd decided to bring it up as an option thereby fully informing Mrs Martinez about the odds. Even though the succesion percentage of the said drug was low, forty percent to be exact, she still agreed. After I illegally obtained the drug from Panacea Labs, I reiterated the odds multiple times, which she strongly agreed to, before I finally administered the drug." Azali's eyes collided against the deceased patient's son, Luis Martinez, who sent a nod of encouragement her way—undoubtedly easing her nerves.

"And it appeared to work for a few weeks, so much so that she got discharged from Edenbrook Hospital." Tegan deduced swiftly. An abrupt rumble from the opposite side echoed throughout the court, "Objection! This is information based on hearsay. The prosecutor has no solid evidence!"

A sly smirk cornered itself along Tegan's lips as she sauntered towards her desk, heaving two manilla hued files off the desk. She approached the stand with the two files in hand, handing one to the Judge and the defender.

"Sustained," the Judge rebutted.

"The files obtain all medical notes and observations of Teresa Martinez's state before and after administrating the drug. On page six, paragraph 8B, is stated in bold letters, that over the past few days after the administration Teresa's white blood cell count improved tremendously, so much so that after a week without treatment her numbers did not regress. At this, Dr. Saints received the approval to discharge Mrs. Martinez after she spent nearly a decade in the hospital."

Declan Nash, who sat seated beside the defender, heaved a sigh followed by a scoff. "Let's not forget she stole the damn drug from my suitcase when I visited Edenbrook!" He snapped violently, spewing each word with an enunciation of anger.

"Mr. Madden keep your client at bay." The Judge demanded at Declan's outburst.

"After you revealed in a fit of cockiness that your lab had finally discovered the plausible cure to the Rhodes disease," Azali grumbled, her eyes spewing flickers of fire that burned deep inside her, gradually wavering into one blazing flame. "Dr. Saints do not adres the defendant's client!" The Judge glowered while hammering the gavel on the hard surface of his desk.

She however, continued, destroying and exposing Panacea Labs entirely. "Even though it was an experimental drug, you hid the possible cure for a disease a handful of people all across the state suffer from!"

"Objection! Miss Tegan's client is badgering my client here!" The defendant, Mr. Madden, shouted.

"Your lab makes the symptom management drug for the disease too and that's why you were so hesitant to bring this case to court. Because it's simply more lucrative to treat something forever than to cure it once and for all, right? All you care about is profit. Just like most of the corrupt medical labs here in America. What's new?" The flame bursted from inside her, flickering into the courtroom and engulfing the defendant and his client wholly.

During her rant, the Judge kept hammering mercilessly yet no thing could stop the words from spewing from her lips. "One more word from you, Dr. Saints, and I will render your testimony invalid."

A sigh escaped her lips tiredly, "I'm sorry, your Honor."

Azali's eyes collided against Tegan's—which sparkled with pride, finesse and approval. Deep within the sea of spectators, Ethan Ramsey watched the doctor he saw the utmost potential in. He raised his hand to softly comb through the previous stubble he had since now grown into a thick beard. Only because she'd advised him to grow it out to see if _she_ liked it. It suited him thoroughly since he was always well-groomed; hair and facial hair alike.

After the final trial day, the fourth day, all the nurses and residents wasted their days by occupying theirselves with nonsense until the seventh day; the Jury's verdict would be aired on national television.

Ethan impatiently drummed his fingers along the length of his desk as his blue eyes remained transfixed on the screen of his laptop. The flashing red banner with the words, 'The Medical Board of Medicine v. Panacea Labs', kept taunting him mercilessly as they flashed by time and time again.

" _Come on_ ," He urged.

A burly postured man dressed in a casual ensemble appeared on his screen. Behind him, the other 11 Jurors stood, keeping their gazes neutral as their fellow presiding Jury presented the verdict form. His eyebrows, brown speckled with hints of grey, furrowed as he read the following statement,

"To count one, fraud—a violation to civil law, we the jury find the pharmaceutical cooperation Panacea Labs... _guilty_. The law suit which was filed by Edenbrook Hospital will ensue a 10 million dollar fine which will be paid in full by Panacea Labs."

All around the hospital, screeches of jubilees were heard, from nurses, interns and doctors as well as patients. In room 246F, Kyra Santana, one of Dr. Azali's patients, exclaimed loudly into the quiet air as she smiled at the TV. Saints' face was plastered all over the news and she was publicly being praised for her touching testimony.

"You did it, Rookie." Ethan cooed, his chest swelling with the utmost pride for his former intern and current colleague.

That month however, was the last one Ethan and Azali spent together. It all started with a text from him reading, _'I'm downstairs.'_ At this, a blinding smile plundered her lips wholly. She swiftly slipped on her coat and Converse sneakers before hurrying down the loud halls of her shared apartment, jumping at the chance to see _him_.

She opened the door to the lobby, only to be met with the sombre expression of the man she'd grown to simply love over the course of a year. "What's wrong?" She queried, her eyes seeping with concern.

"Let's take a walk, Azali." He muttered quietly. _Coldly_.

"Azali? You never call me by my name. That's cold, Ramsey." She jested, an obvious twang of humor buried underneath her words—all which didn't reach her former mentor.

Both remained quiet and aware of the tense sphere clouding above their heads as they kept walking, no obvious destination in mind. They walked alongside a park when Azali stopped in her tracks, drilling her intense brown eyes into his avoidant blue ones. "What is bothering you, Ethan? Talk to me, please." She reached her hand out, willing to slip her small one into his large one.

He however had other plans as he swiftly tucked both hands into the pocket of his coat, shaking his head dismissively. "No, Saints. _No_."

A searing frown etched itself unto her forehead at his sudden panicked response. She parted her lips to mutter something, anything, yet he was met with silence. "We don't make sense. What we're doing is stupid. It's _fucking_ stupid, Rookie. I just got my job back, you've been promoted to Fellow Junior on the Diagnostics Team.. I-... I'm your boss." He scoffed, running his hand through his wild brown hair.

"I don't know what you do to me, and that's dangerous. I am- was willing to lose my job over you. I was ready to lose it over something as inimical, empty and unworthy as _love_." He spat each word with venom, his gaze piercing through her blurred one.

Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to forge a path down her cheeks were she to blink. Her arms hung limply by her side, her mind was wiped blank of any reverie and her heart throbbed to the point of almost suffering a painful death. Her lips remained parted, yet no words wanted to exposed itself.

"I'm truly sorry for wasting your time, Azali. But as of now, we cannot be more than colleagues. Any relationship we had must be severed or else, we're both done." If it weren't for the bright light of day illuminating his features so precisely, she would've thought—hoped, that it were tears that shone so brilliantly in his eyes, but it wasn't. It was determination. He was determined to cut her off from his personal life completely.

Throwing her his last glance, he snuggled into his coat and dug his hands further into his pockets before making his first few steps into his ideal of life. Looniness in his mind equalled peacefulness. What a sick ideal it was, indeed. Yet, Ethan Ramsey did not know better.

After the ghost of his smell distinctly disappeared from her senses, she threw all the words she couldn't muster up before at his retreating form. "You can't do this to me, Ethan! You can't just leave me like this. Not again! You're a fucking coward! That's why you're walking away like always! Fuck you, you stupid fucking.. you-" Her screeches of vanity were ceased by the loud sobs that wailed from her throat.

She broke down in the middle of the street he'd left her at. All because he wanted his job and his peace more than he wanted her, or so she thought.

PRESENT,

Planning a gala like the one that would commence today wasn't light work to plan. Harper Emery along with the help of various directors on the board organized the soiree with Choir & Grey's assist. 

For soiree's like such, bringing a plus one was the only accountable and graceful gesture to accept. So in the apartment of the E5, Edenbrook 5–a nickname mustered up by Elijah, heated discussions of who were bringing who as their plus ones conjured.

"I think I should go with Phoebe." Elijah shrugged nonchalantly. "Hell no, she isn't even part of the hospital in any way. She isn't even a patient." Aurora scoffed dismissively, quickly having become comfortable around the four friends since she'd been proposed to live alongside them.

"Maybe we can break her leg before the party begins tonight so that we can convince Harper to add her to the list." Azali muttered as dismissively, an underlying sarcasm tainting her words. "No, we're not breaking anyone's legs! Phoebe is my date, period." He screeched, shaking her head.

"Okay, fine, but then Azali's going to be mine." Sienna proclaimed, wrapping a tight arm around her friend's shoulder. "You must take me for a joke. Then I suppose I'm Aurora's date?" Jackie argued, sending a dismissive look said girl's way.

"That's correct, Miss Varma, you aren't so dense as I presumed you to be." Azali painted a sarcastic grin upon her lips, Jackie swiftly mimicking her gesture.

Aurora left the living room with a loud sigh. "Where are you going, date?" Jackie questioned, eagerly following after Aurora. "Looking as beautiful as I do maintains consistency and timing, darling." She rebutted. Their playful banter continued until their voices were mere ghosts haunting the walls.

"I bet five dollars they're not gonna survive the night." 

_If only they knew who wasn't going to survive the night._


End file.
